Thirteen Reasons Why: Hey Arnold Edition
by Imena Tanaka
Summary: "Hey, it's Lila, Lila Sawyer. That's right. Don't adjust your... whatever device you're listening to this on. It's me, live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore. And this time absolutely no requests. Get a snack. Settle in. 'Cause I'm about to tell you the story of my life." Arnold learns more about Lila's death and how the people in his school played a role in it.
1. Prologue

Things haven't been the same since Lila died. She was the sweetest girl I have ever known and she didn't deserve it. But at the same time, the world didn't deserve her.

I was walking down the hallway of Hillwood High with the sole purpose of making it to class on time. The school was littered with posters about teenage mental health. "You are not alone," they read. But they were just words. Nothing could bring Lila back from the dead. And I doubted a few well-placed poster by our lockers were going to prevent other student's from killing themselves.

Admittedly, I was zoning out. So when I walked into Sid, it was definitely my fault.

"Watch it, Arnold," he hissed, pronouncing my name like it was a swear word.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly and tried to get out of there.

"Dear, sweet Arnold could never do anything wrong, huh?" he sneered sarcastically. His puffy, red eyes suggested that he may have been smoking something earlier this morning. "I don't care what she says about you. You're at just as much fault as the rest of us."

Against my better judgement, I raised an eyebrow and asked,"She?"

Before he could say anything else, Mr. Simmons walked up toward us. He had probably sensed some sort of tension between us. "Now, now, boys. Schools are for learning, not for fighting. I'm sure we could all work out our problems in my office if we need to," he said with his awkward smile.

"I gotta get to class," I said, breaking away from the scene. As I was walking away, I could hear Mr. Simmons still talking to Sid. Something about coming to his office to talk about Lila.

Hearing her name sent a shiver down my spine. But why did Mr. Simmons need to talk to Sid about Lila? She had killed herself three months ago. The case was closed and even the police were done investigating it. I knew that Sid and Lila had a thing, but that was like a year before she died. Did they even talk to each other after the incident?

I went to homeroom with a sick feeling in my stomach that didn't seem to go away, no matter how hard I tried.

* * *

When I went home, there was a strange box sitting on my porch. It didn't have a return address nor anything else on it, except for a note card taped on it that read, "Arnold".

I took it up to my room and locked the door. It was a series of tapes and a map. I knew for sure that my grandpa would own a cassette player, so I left the tapes in my room and decided to ask him for it.

After a couple minutes of us going back and forth, he finally told me that the player was in the storage somewhere. Shuffling through a dozen of boxes, I found the cassette player, collecting dust. I grabbed it and ran back to my room as fast as I could.

I got the first tape and placed it in. Nothing could prepare me for what I would hear when I pressed the play button. I heard a voice that I thought would only haunt me in my dreams. I heard...

"Hey, it's Lila, Lila Sawyer. That's right. Don't adjust your... whatever device you're listening to this on. It's me, live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore. And this time absolutely no requests. Get a snack. Settle in. 'Cause I'm about to tell you the story of my life."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Hey everyone. It's been a long, long time since I posted something. I've been really busy with school and starting at a new university and what not. I also went on vacation for the first time in forever, so that was great. Anyways, enough about me. This chapter is kind of just a teaser. I really liked the 13 Reasons Why series and decided to make my own Hey Arnold edition. Some of it will follow the Netflix series, like the infamous first line and some of the plot, but it's going to be a bit different. I wanted to keep the Hey Arnold characters as close to the original as possible. I probably will keep writing it regardless of whether or not people read this or leave me reviews, but hey, let me know what you think anyways. It'd make me feel good if I was writing something that people want me to continue. That's all for now! Ta-ta!


	2. Tape 1

I stopped the tape as soon as I could.

That was Lila's voice.

The thought was spinning around in my head as I replayed what I had heard over and over again.

When I finally calmed myself down, I pressed the play button once more.

"More specifically, why my life ended.

And if you're listening to this tape you're one of the reasons why.

I'm not saying which tape brings you into the story.

But fear not, if you received this lovely little box, your name will pop up."

I could feel my blood freezing in my veins. Lila Sawyer was dead and from the beyond, she was telling me that I was the reason why.

Part of me wanted to listen to these damn tapes. Part of me wanted to run for the hills. Part of me was replaying every single time I had ever talked to Lila and wondering what I did wrong. How did I, unknowingly, cause the death of the girl that I loved?

The only real choice I had was to continue listening.

"There are only two rules. Rule one is to listen. Rule two is to pass it on. When you have listened to all thirteen sides, because there are thirteen sides to every story, rewind the tapes and pass it on to the next person. Oh, and the box of tapes should have included a map. I'll be mentioning several spots around our beloved city. I suggest going to them if you want to get a little more insight. Or don't. However, if you try to break the rules, know that I did make a copy of these tapes, and I left them with a trusted individual who, if this package doesn't make it through all of you, will release those copies in a very public manner. This was not a spur of the moment decision. Do not take me for granted. Not again. Our first destination will be at C4."

I stopped the tape once again. I pulled out the map and examined it closer. It was in a grid labeled A-J across and 1-10 down. In the C4 square was a red star.

Without saying anything to my grandparents, I ran out the boarding house and got on my bike.

This was Lila's damn suicide note, and I was going to do what she said.

* * *

 _"You've arrived at my first house in this shitty town where I threw my first and only party and where I met Sid Gifaldi, the subject of our first tape._

 _You were in love with my friend Ruth. Well, she was kind of my friend. She was more like the only person I knew since I moved to Hillwood that summer. But she was nice enough._

 _She was moving away, and wanted to help me meet new people before she left. The only other person that I knew was Arnold, whom I met just a couple of weeks before at work._

 _Arnold was a nice guy through and through. He had a habit of rambling when he talked, but that was kind of sweet. He was also a huge dork, but at least I felt comfortable around him._

 _But I'm getting off-tasked here. We're talking about you right now, Sid._

 _Ruth wanted to introduce me to your friend Stinky who she called "the sweet kind of dumb" and while he was not too ugly to look at, the moment I saw your radiant smile, I was doomed._

 _It was the kind of smile that could convince a girl that you were a nice guy. That maybe you were different than all the boneheaded idiots high school had to offer. That maybe you could treat a girl right. And for a short while, that was true._

 _We lost touch with Ruth rather quickly and you also lost your interest in her. I wondered if I was a bad friend for liking you, even though she never thought of you that way. If only I had stayed away. Maybe, things would have turned out differently and I would still be alive. Oh well. Back to the story._

 _Before my mom passed away, she told me that the key to a boy's heart was to give him a chase. So when you tried to talk to me in the hallways, I pretended not to see you. Sometimes, I would even pretend I was too busy talking to someone on the phone._

 _Looking back, it seemed kind of dumb to play games. Why can't girls and guys just tell each other that they liked each other without it getting all weird?_

 _But it worked. You were hooked, interested, and wanting. You chased after me and I ran away. We played our game for about two weeks before I gave you my number. And then I snuck out of the house to meet you at the park late at night._

 _It was my first date ever and it was everything that I could want. I dreamed that our first kiss would be at a park. I would be on top of the slide while you would be waiting for me down below. As I slid down, you would catch me at the bottom. And then it would happen._

 _I know what you all are thinking: Lila Sawyer is a slut._

 _Oops, did you catch that? I said "Lila Sawyer is". I can't say that anymore._

 _We kissed._

 _That's all that happened. But I know that you all heard something else._

 _Well sorry to disappoint you, but all we did was kiss._

 _And you... You, Sid, took a magical night, what should have been the best day of my life, and tainted it with lies and humiliation._

 _The next morning as all of you listening would know, a certain photo went around. In that photo, I was wearing my usual green skirt but it was riding up my thigh from riding down the slide. I admit that the photo was risqué. If I was someone else, I might have thought the same thing._

 _Did you know what happened after you sent that photo around? Did you know how many people began to whisper behind my back? Did you know how many boys tried to get me to sleep with them because they thought I was "easy"?_

 _I bet you didn't. You didn't know that what you had done would have changed everything for me. You were the start of what would be the end of me._

 _But I'm not done with you yet, Sid. Keep listening and turn the tape over for more."_

* * *

"Arnold? Are you okay, man?"

I turned around and found myself face to face with my old childhood friend, Gerald Johanssen. It was only then did I notice that my face was wet with tears. I wiped them away with my sleeve and gave him a nod.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just... " I was stammering. I didn't know what to say to him. I wasn't sure if I could tell him about the tapes.

"So it's your turn with the tapes?" he asked, as if he could read my mind.

"How.. did you... Are you on the tapes?" I returned his question with my own. I didn't even realize that Lila talked to Gerald at all. "Am I one of the reasons Lila Sawyer is dead?"

"Arnold... We all are the reason for Lila's death."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks for the reviews guys! To answer fictionlover94's question, I haven't read the book yet so I'm sorry to say that it does not follow the book.

Also, I've decided to do a spin off of the show with Lila in Hannah's shoes because in the episode of Hey Arnold where they introduced Lila for the first time, all the boys liked her while all the girls hated her and bullied her a lot. I felt like she would fit into Hannah's story fairly well.

I'll admit that the pacing of this chapter was kind of weird. I felt like the show did a good job of overlapping scenes and I just realized how hard it was to translate it back to words. Maybe I'll read the book for inspiration on how to do it better haha.

Thank you all again for the reviews and reading. I'll hope to see you all soon.


	3. Tape 2

Maybe it was hearing Lila's voice again or maybe Gerald's answer was just that annoyingly vague, but either way I lost it.

"What the hell do you mean? Are you on these tapes or not? What role do you have in this?" I demanded with a harsh glare. "I didn't even know that you talked to Lila."

"You haven't bothered to know anything about me since the sixth grade, Arnold," Gerald replied coldly. He took a deep breath as if to calm himself down. "But that's not the point... You're just going to have to listen to the tapes if you want to know the answer. We both know that's what she would have wanted."

"Fine," I muttered and grabbed the tape player. Then I got up and walked away without saying anything else to my ex-best friend. Something about him just made me upset, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But the fact that he had anything to do with the tapes and Lila's death was unsettling.

When I got back home, I was exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I've decided that I was going to confront Sid about the tapes. If he was on the first tape, then he was also the first person to learn about them. Plus, he had to talk to Mr. Simmons about Lila so something was definitely up.

I searched for him at school all day but I couldn't find him. I even went to his football practice, but the coach said that he didn't show up at all. He probably ditched class again, which was not out of character for Sid.

I was about to call it a day, when I heard a familiar voice as I walked down the halls. "Where the hell is Sid?"

I turned around to see the one and only Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd talking to Lorenzo and Stinky. If I could describe Rhonda in one word, it would be "hot" and no, not just because she was extremely attractive. She was fiery with a sharp tongue. If you stood too close to her, you could get burned. Which was why she was one of the people I avoided like the plague.

"I dunno," answered Stinky with a shrug. "He probably ditched class or something."

Rhonda, unsatisfied with his answer turned to Lorenzo. "Did you see him?"

"Yeah... well, I saw him last night. He seemed fine."

"Then why didn't he answer my calls or texts?"

"I don't know. I'm not his fucking keeper. Put a tracking device on your boyfriend if you're that paranoid. He'll probably talk to you soon whenever he gets back down to earth."

In a hushed voice that I could barely make out, Rhonda whispered, "Mr. Simmons wants to talk to me now. He even left a call slip in my homeroom. Just tell him that I need to talk to him, okay?" And with that, she left.

Was everyone always this... suspicious? Or were these tapes making me go crazy? I needed to finish them as soon as possible or else I was going to completely lose it.

* * *

 _"Welcome to the other side of Tape 1. Couldn't stop listening could you? Are you dying to know what you did? Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. And don't forget, the others will know what you did too. If they don't already know. Scary, isn't it? Are you feeling paranoid? You should be. You never really know who you can trust and who you can't._

 _This brings us to the star of this tape, my former friend Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd._

 _It was timing that allowed us to be friends. I say this because you aren't the type of person that would be friends with a girl like me if it weren't for a special situation. But there we were._

 _We were both new to Hillwood. So some hippy-dippy guidance counselor thought it would be a good idea for us to become friends. And against all odds, it worked. We became friends and drank hot chocolate together at Big Al's, the headquarter of our friendship._

 _And then came Harold._

 _One day we were sipping on our cocoas, and he was just staring at us awkwardly. You noticed and jokingly asked, "Which one of us are you checking out? And just so you know, we're both way out of your league."_

 _"A-actually, I'm new to town... You guys seemed... cool," he said shyly._

 _So we decided to let him into our little group and we became the three musketeers. And I'll admit, you guys gave me some of the best couple of weeks of my life. If I close my eyes, I could still see us sitting in a booth at Big Al's with two cups of hot chocolate and one cup of whatever Harold felt like getting. He said he was going to try to drink everything on the menu at least once, but why do that when their hot chocolate was simply amazing?_

 _Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. Harold soon joined the football team and was hanging out with those dumb jocks. And Rhonda, you stopped hanging out with me soon after. I wasn't quite sure why, until that fateful Friday night._

 _I was working at the theater and well, if that wasn't the most awkward interaction in human existence._

 _"Hey Rhonda, catching a movie?" I had asked and actually, I was excited to see you. It was too long since we talked._

 _"Oh... yeah," you replied without looking directly at me. "I... thought you didn't work on Friday nights."_

 _"I usually don't, but I'm filling in for Maria."_

 _"That's cool, I guess."_

 _You pulled out your wallet to pay for the ticket but I shook my head before handing you the ticket. "No, it's okay. What's the point of having your best friend work at the theaters if you don't get in for free?"_

 _"Thanks..."_

 _Then Harold walked up to you and put his arm around your waist. Until he saw me in the ticket booth which caused him to drop his arms immediately and laugh awkwardly. "Oh, hey Lila. You're working? But it's-"_

 _"Friday?" I interrupted. "I just explained it to Rhonda."_

 _"Okay... Yeah... We were just hanging out... together...So... can I get one?" he asked awkwardly._

 _"Ten dollar, please," I said, trying not to show how hurt I was actually feeling._

 _And that was that._

 _It was fine. I mean, I should have figured something like that would happen. Sure, it hurt me when I saw you and Harold hanging out behind my back, but what was I expecting? Rhonda, you're the type of girl that every guy would fall for. You were fashionable, pretty, and exciting. Meanwhile... I was just plain o' Lila. Sweet Lila. Easy Lila. Slutty Lila. In that exact order._

 _But you know what ruined our friendship forever?_

 _Harold's list._

 _You told me to meet you at Big Al's because you needed to talk after a few months. And I was happy. I was foolish to think that it was because you wanted to be friends again._

 _"I know the rumors, Lila," you started with your signature death glare._

 _"Well, you can't know rumors. You hear them," I said lightheartedly, ignoring your glare._

 _"We were friends. How could you do that to me?"_

 _"What did I do?"_

 _"You and Harold? You guys are a thing now?"_

 _"No way! He likes you and you like him. I'm the one who's out of the picture."_

 _"Yeah and that pissed you off, didn't it?"_

 _"Well... I was sad, but... that's just because I missed you guys."_

 _"So you decided to steal him from me as revenge?"_

 _"No! I would never do that!"_

 _"Give it up, Lila. We both knew you were jealous of what me and Harold had. So you gave him an offer that he couldn't refuse. Because you're a fucking slut and that's what sluts like you do." And then you slapped me across the face before storming off._

 _You had a strong right hand, but it was your words stung me the most, Rhonda. Maybe deep inside, you knew that you were just lashing out at me. You knew that it wasn't my fault that Harold broke up with you. But you needed it to be my fault. I hope it was worth it, Rhonda."_

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_**

Thanks for all the reads and reviews! I know I take a while to publish each chapter. I'm really busy but I'm trying my best. I hope you all will be patient with me and continue reading!


	4. Tape 3

"Hey football head, are you going to order a damn drink or not?"

I blinked, just realizing that the last tape had ended and had left me in a booth at Big Al's. "Huh?" I stammered, looking up at the owner of the harsh, scolding voice. I have only been called Football head by one person...

"Criminy Football head! Are you high or something? I asked if you were going to order something," said the blonde waitress, throwing her hands up with exasperation. I was surprised to see it was someone that I knew.

"O-oh... Uh... Helga? I didn't know you worked here," I said with an awkward cough. I pulled off the headphones and pushed it and the player aside. "I'll have a hot chocolate?"

Helga looked at me and for a short second, her expression softened before returning to her normal scowl. "No offense Football head, but it looks like you are better off with a regular coffee with an extra shot of expresso," she said.

"I guess I'll have that then."

"Got it."

I watched her walk away and wondered... What happened to the little girl in the pink dress? Helga had apparently traded that in for a leather jacket and combat boots. But it somewhat warmed my heart to see that she was still wearing a pink bow in her hair. At least some things never changed.

After a couple of minutes, Helga returned with a hot mug and said, "A hot coffee with a shot of expresso for Football head."

I pulled the wallet out of my pocket and asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"On the house," she said, walking away with a wave of her hand.

"What?"

"For being an old friend."

"T-thank you, Helga!"

"Shut up, Football head!"

I took a sip of the hot coffee and winced. It was rather bitter and strong, but it was also warm and helped wake me up. It kind of reminded me of the girl who gave it to me. I took a deep breath before taking out the tape and putting in the next one.

* * *

 _"Harold, you probably could have guessed that you were next. If you didn't... well, even you aren't that clueless, right? Anyway, welcome to your tape._

 _You know? You and Rhonda never told me how you guys started dating. But I do remember how it ended: Your list._

 _And it was such a little thing. And you all can think that I'm just some stupid girl who freaks out over the little things. But have you heard of the butterfly effect? That one butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world can cause a hurricane in another? Well that list was your little thing, but it became my hurricane. "_

* * *

The next day, I found Harold in the hallway. "Hey, can we talk for a minute?" I asked, grabbing him by his backpack.

"What do you want, Arnold? I have to get to football practice," he groaned, but his eyes looked wary of me.

"Just one minute," I said as firmly as I could manage.

"Fine."

So we walked to an empty classroom to talk for a minute. There was an awkward silence until I broke the ice by asking, "Why did you do that to Rhonda and Lila?"

"Do what, Arnold?"

"Make that stupid list. Put Lila's name by 'Best Ass' and Rhonda by 'Worst Ass'? I thought you loved Rhonda," I pressed calmly.

"I did love her... I might even still... But who cares? It's just a stupid list!"

"Why did you do it?" I asked again, in a more forceful tone.

"Because Rhonda wouldn't sleep with me."

"Dude-"

"I know, I know how awful that sounds. But I already told the guys that I did it and I thought she would do it for me but she didn't. So, I got mad, embarrassed, whatever. I didn't even make the entire list, the guys were just pressuring me to write some names down. I just wanted Rhonda to ... suffer a bit like I did."

"That's messed up," I said, still not being able to believe what I had just heard.

"No," he said, walking up toward the wall. "What's messed up is this fucking school. And these fucking posters." He then proceeded to take one down and rip it apart. "Don't kill yourself? We should make posters that say 'Don't be a fucking dick' instead!"

Before I could stop Harold from taking down more of the posters and ripping them, Curly popped his head into the classroom. "What's going on fellas?" he said with a mischievous grin while holding his camera up.

"Go away, Curly. And you better not be taking any pictures or I'll pound you!" Harold threatened.

"I just wanted to know what the fuss was all about," Curly said, unfazed and still wearing his Cheshire-like grin. But he soon left as quickly as he came.

Curly's sudden appearance seemed to get Harold to stop ripping up posters though.

"...It was a stupid list... and I wish everyday that I never took part in it..." he said softly and walked out of the classroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts and some more questions.

* * *

 _"Some girls were complimented for making the list for having the 'Best Eyes' or 'Best Hair.'_

 _Other girls like Helga Pataki who got 'Worst Face' were laughed at whenever they thought she wasn't looking._

 _But me? Winning 'Best Ass' made it open season for all boys to catcall me and take a grab at that 'perfect ass'. I could see the other girls looking at me with disgust while the boys stare at my butt._

 _The butterfly effect. It started with Sid and then on to you, Harold. And then the rest of you. Who knows? Maybe these tapes will have a butterfly effect of their own. Everything affects everything. "_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Sorry for the slow update. It was midterm season and now it's finals season. I actually wrote the first part of this chapter a few weeks ago, but I never had the time to finish it. I'm thankful still for all the reviews I've been getting from you all. And in case you didn't get it from this chapter, Guest, R thought L was sleeping with H because H made a major diss on R by placing her as 'Worst Ass' and L as 'Best Ass' because R wouldn't sleep with him.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great holiday season and I'll try to update as frequently as I can!


	5. Tape 4

The tapes and the next spot on the map took me to an eerily familiar place. I could not shake the feeling that I have been here before, but it was too dark to tell. Lila said that we could only come to this spot at night, and I was not one to not respect her wishes from beyond the grave. Though I was starting to regret it when the all of the streetlights suddenly went out. A midautumn breeze that was innocent enough during the day, sent a shiver down my spine.

Then I heard something.

It was the sound of footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves. And it was heading towards me.

I spun around, but they were still too far to make out in the dark. As the stranger continued to walk toward me, I was paralyzed. I wanted to run or scream or anything that would get me out of this situation.

"Arnold?"

It knew my name. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the end. This was it. Here I come, Lila.

"Yo Arnold! Arnold! Hello?!"

I was shaken until my eyes opened.

I found myself face to face with Lorenzo, the student body president of our high school. "What the hell, Arnold?" he asked with frown. "You shouldn't be in a place like this at night. You never know what kind of people you'll meet. Even in a small town like Hillwood."

You would think it made sense for Lorenzo to care about me, as a good student body president should. But anyone who actually knew Lorenzo, knew that the only person that Lorenzo actually cared about was himself. Becoming the student body present was easy for a guy who was wealthy enough to promise to buy all the sport teams new uniforms and all the band geeks new instruments. And if it helped him get into an Ivy League college, he was happy to pay the price to buy his candidacy. It was made even more impressive as he was the first sophomore president in Hillwood history and currently "running" for his second re-election.

"Uh... Thanks Lorenzo?" I said, unconvinced by his sudden display of consideration. "What are you doing here then?"

He pulled me closer and whispered, "I know about the tapes." He then motioned me to follow him and he lead me to the next spot in the map. I had too many questions to ask him but he was walking too fast and I struggled just to keep up with him.

"Where is this place?" I asked once we stopped, crouched behind a bush.

"It's Curly's house."

"What?"

I looked at the window that had been broken at least 4 times. No wonder this place seemed familiar. I had been here a couple of times as a kid for Curly's birthday parties. "What's going on? What does Curly have to do with anything?"

"Didn't you finish listening to the tapes yet?"

"Uh... no... I just started the second side of the second tape."

"Well..." Lorenzo looked on the ground and found a rock. He handed it to me and said, "Here you go."

"What is this for?"

"We all came here before you. And we all threw a rock at his window. He deserved it really."

"Who's we? Why did you do that to him? What did he do to deserve this? How do you even know about the tapes?"

Lorenzo rolled his eyes like all of the questions I was asking him were dumb. "We, as in all of us on the tapes. Secondly, Curly is a creep. He did a lot of creepy things and never respected any of our privacy. So this was our chance to take a shot at him. He doesn't fight it either. He knows what he did."

"Wait. So you're on these tapes?" I asked with disbelief. I couldn't recall a time when Lila and Lorenzo even exchanged a few words. "So do you know who else is on these tapes? Do you know what I did to Lila?"

"So many damn questions, dude. And no, I don't know what anyone did. I just listened to the tapes til I heard mine and then the one after so I could pass it down."

"But what about what Lila wanted?"

"Dude, Lila's dead."

The tone of his voice made my blood boil and I almost punched him across the face. Instead, I said nothing.

As if he could sense my anger, he added, "Sorry, man. But it's true. And anyway, you shouldn't take anything she says on the tapes seriously. She was just a girl looking for some attention. Most of it probably isn't true."

"She's freaking dead, Lorenzo. She killed herself because of what happened on those tapes. How could you say that about her?"

He shrugged. "Lila had issues, man. Some deep, serious shit. Anyway, I said what I needed to say to you. Just don't believe everything you hear." He then got up, and pat me on the shoulder. I couldn't help but glare at him. "We're all in the same boat here. And I don't think any one of us is to blame for Lila's death but herself."

I stayed there behind that stupid bush and thought about what Lorenzo had said. I decided to listen to rest of the tape and as Lila's voice filled my mind, I felt as uneasy as ever.

* * *

 _"Curly. Or should I say Thaddeus? That is your real name right?_

 _Yeah, I've done my research. You seem to have your nose in everyone's business so how do you like it now that I know some things about you?_

 _I'm standing out your window right now. Watching you, like you have been watching me. Like how you have been watching everyone. At least, everyone who has any relation to Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd._

 _Oh yeah. I also know about your crush on my ex-best friend. And now she knows too. Oops, my bad._

 _But letting out your little secret isn't nearly as bad as what you did to me. Your stupid photo of me ruined my slowly recovering reputation. And it cost me a friend, though you might have done me a favor with that one. We all know how good I am at being stabbed in the back by my 'friends'._

 _You took pictures of me while I was at school, at Big Al's, and even at home. Every time I heard the slightest sound, I can swear I hear your camera click. Nowhere was safe from you and your camera._

 _Maybe you did that to everyone. But we all know that you've done the greatest damage to me with your photos. I did what you asked, when you black mailed me. So why did you have to do that to me? What did I do to be so utterly humiliated?_

 _Well, now everyone who listens to these tapes will know about you. And your collection of photos. And you'll never know quite for sure if someone is watching you in your room... right now. "_

* * *

I looked up at the window. The lights had just turned on. Curly had just come home. I thought about the picture that Lila was talking about. She didn't need to say in the tape which one it was. I already knew.

I glanced down at the rock that Lorenzo had given me earlier. My fingers rubbed against its smooth surface. I took another look at the window that was already broken. It would have been easy to break it again. It wasn't a far throw and no one would know it was me if I ran away.

But I couldn't do it. Even if I knew what he did was wrong... Even if I knew that he played a part in Lila's death. So I put the rock down and went back home. I had listened to enough for the night. All I wanted to do now was sleep.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. School has been making me really busy and before that the Christmas holidays were busy too. Thanks for those of you who left me reviews. They encouraged me to keep going! I hope you all the best and thank you guys for reading. Don't worry, I am continuing this story and will continue to do so unless I say otherwise.


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